Clustered Bellflower (Campanula glomerata) is a relative of the Harebell, also of the Campanulaceae family. Found in grassland on calcareous soils in July/August.

 This one was photographed in Bedfordshire at Knocking Hoe where they proliferate. Roy Vickery notes in his excellent Plant-Lore website that C. glomerata was sometimes known as Danes' Blood in Cambridgeshire which is not so far away.

 Indeed it is one of several plants that went by that name, another being the much rarer Pasque Flower which also grows at Knocking Hoe. Whether in myth or reality it seems that the landscape of both these plants was associated with battles of the distant past. 

 I think "the last flowers of summer" will be a theme in the next week or two, if that isn't too melancholy. Actually I love autumn but it's true that wildflowers are becoming scarce by this point in the year.

 Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) flowers from July into September and can be found on dry grassland and heaths. I've seen them a lot in areas like the Pegsden Hills in Hertfordshire recently but they can be found not too far from my flat in London. Blackheath is a fragment of what would have been countryside in centuries past and some of the flora survives. Harebells look fragile but they are extremely tough and persistent spreading via underground runners. 

 Yellow Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), appears late summer in grassy areas like field edges and roadside verges. One of the last wildflowers to flower as summer turns to autumn.

 Autumn is coming. We're still in late summer though; here's hoping we'll see some September sunshine. The "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" will soon be upon us but that brings pleasures of its own. 

 A common butterfly in gardens as well as the countryside. As its name suggests the Speckled Wood favours woodland (and hedgerows) i.e. dappled shade though they bask in spots illuminated by the sun. Gardens with trees and shrubs provide a comparable habitat. I even saw one in my garden in London recently. Butterflies are few and far between in the metropolis I'm sorry to say.  

 A nocturnal visitor. The garden of the house I grew up in has always had hedgehogs although it's a town garden. I have suspected for a while that they have been helping themselves to the cat food my father leaves out on the patio. Managed to get a snap by torchlight of this one having a midnight snack.

 Hedgehogs are rarely seen in the daytime but I remember an occasion in this garden years ago. I was wearing open toed sandals which I kicked off to go barefoot. A baby hedgehog appeared and started snuffling around. Eventually it shimmied snugly into one of the sandals and stayed there for quite some time. 

 Bees love Lavender, all species of Lavender of which there are about fifty I believe. There are also various cultivars referred to as Lavandin or Lavendula x intermedia i.e. crosses of English Lavender (L. angustifolia) which is actually French with Portuguese Lavender (L. latifolia) which is native to Portugal, Spain and France. These hybrids produce a good deal more aromatic oil than the straight species- and attract even more bees, probably cause and effect.

 Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum). The pink flower heads turn two-tone as the white haired seeds form. Oughtonhead Common in Hertfordshire is particularly abundant in Hemp Agrimony which is a plant of damp grassland, stream sides, riverbanks, marshes and ditches. 

 A ditch that runs across the common is full of it as well as other moisture loving species like Greater Willowherb and Purple Loosestrife. John Shipton -the proprietor of Shipton Bulbs- once published a blog called 'A guide to five star ditches'. The one at Oughtonhead is absolutely first rate, top marks.

 At the risk of repeating myself here is another snap of the Six-spot Burnet. The spots are more prominent in this image. As I say the flowery grasses were teeming on them. Enlarge the photo and it becomes apparent that the antenna of another is emerging from behind the flower. There is also one (out of focus) on the flower behind. Field Scabious is among the main food plants for Six-spot Burnet.

 The flowery grasslands of Hoo Bit, the Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe are host to plenty of bees and butterflies but the most prolific pollinator at the moment is a moth. Six-spot Burnet is a day-flying moth and I noticed on Wednesday's walk that it was present in great numbers. Considered a common species in this kind of habitat but even so I have never seen so many here or anywhere else.

 Walking over the Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe yesterday there was a fine selection of wildflowers wherever the grass was long. Correspondingly pollinators were plentiful. The Hoo Bit nature reserve was especially flowery. 

 The English landscape has quite a few hoos, for example Sutton Hoo and the Hoo Peninsula. The word seems to derive from the Anglo Saxon hoh meaning a hill shaped like a heel spur. I can only think that Hoo Bit is so named because it is a bit of a hoo! 

 Hoe is thought to be an alternative derivation and of course Knocking Hoe is not far away.

 A walk between the villages of Lilley and Pirton in Hertfordshire via the Pegsdon Hills and Knocking Hoe. Conveniently each village has a bus stop and a sporadic schedule that saves me a considerable trek from Hitchin and back. 

 The first stage of the walk out of Lilley is arable but scenic. The wheat is in for the most part and ploughing is underway. 

 When I reached the Icknield Way I turned eastward towards the hills and approached them through Hoo Bit nature reserve. At one time this was a Larch plantation now a flowery meadow. Wood pasture i.e. open grassland in woodland clearings was once commonplace.

 I don't know why but I don't usually take this particular route. And yet Hoo Bit leads on to a wonderful grassy expanse which puts me in mind of a steppe. Not vast like a steppe but the undulations of the land make it seem so. 

 Then onto the heights. Well, the highest heights hereabouts.

 Various footpaths criss cross the hills. I took the upper trail looking down the dry valleys that define this landscape. As I have noted before there is a bulge of chalk across southern England between here and Lyme Regis. It is thought that an ancient (perhaps prehistoric) ridgeway formed part of a coast to coast route between Dorset and Norfolk including the Icknield Way. 

 I skirted round Knocking Hoe then down to Pirton. And yes, I did have a pint.

 Jersey Tiger on white Phlox (probably some variety of P. paniculata?). Not a butterfly but a moth that flies in the daytime as well as at night. The Jersey Tiger is thought to be have migrated from the continent to our southern shores.

 Considered a rarity in Victorian times it is now well established in those coastal counties and said to be expanding its range rapidly in recent years. That seems to be the case in Hertfordshire. I saw one for the first time a year or two back; this year I am seeing them regularly.

 The black and cream stripes on the forewing are striking. The underwings are visible in flight: vivid red or orange with black spots. At first glance the blur could be taken for a Comma or Tortoiseshell butterfly.

 The thistles that have been so prolific this year are going to seed but butterflies still seek out their final flowers. From top to bottom: Peacock, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper. 

  The weather is warmer and sunnier after July's washout but it feels like late summer with cool breezes and a touch of autumn in the air. 

 Honeybee going about its work on Lesser Calamint (Calamentha nepeta) which is a great little bee magnet in late summer. I planted one in a sunny spot in an old Belfast sink years ago and it has proved to be indestructible. 

 On Tankerton Slopes, North Kent coast looking towards Herne Bay. The yellow umbellifer is Hog Fennel (Peucedanum officinale). The largest colony in the UK is here and it only grows in a few other locations on the Kent and Essex coasts. Hog Fennel is the sole food plant of Fisher's Esturine Moth so both are niche to say the least.

 Finally found the Small Copper- on a flowery stretch of field margin near Oughtonhead Common in Hertfordshire. As is often the case I have Jif to thank for his directions to more or less the exact spot where they are most active.

 Proved to be a good locale for a variety of butterflies including Brown Argus. I published photos of an Argus basking a couple of days ago; the underwing (as seen below) is very different to the upperwing.

 I noted recently that various Persicaria species and cultivars are becoming increasingly popular in gardens and garden design. I planted the shrub-like P. amplexicualis 'Firetail' a number of years ago as seen above. Actually it has been reassigned botanically speaking and is now Bistorta amplexicaulis. 

 Tip: it dies down entirely over winter and the new stems don't start to appear until early summer so it's possible to have spring flowering bulbs in the same space.

 I can see why it's called 'Firetail' or perhaps it was 'Firedance'. Anyway, it's fiery.

 Not sure why but it seems to attract wasps in particular.

 Here is a butterfly I've been looking out for: the Brown Argus. Another tip-off from Jif that he had seen them in numbers in the Ickleford Meadows/Burymead Springs area in Hertfordshire.

 The Brown Argus is a small butterfly and hard to spot across a large expanse. The trick is to notice its flight pattern which is easier to perceive than trying to pick out a speck in the distance. Then fix your gaze on its flutterings till it lands. At that point the Argus is one of the easier butterflies to photograph because it obliges by remaining still while basking even when approaching very close with the camera. 

 Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) is indeed common which is a boon for bees and butterflies. Found in meadows and meadow-like areas: grass verges, embankments, woodland rides etc. Also known as Leeser Knapweed and Black Knapweed -the 'knap' has blackish bracts. 

 Here we go round the Mulberry bush, or in this case a tree which is the Black Mulberry (Morus nigra). Mulberries ripen in July/August and you will probably have to find a bush or tree if you want some. As soft fruits go they are very soft; too squashy to be picked for packaging although Mulberry jam is a thing. When plucked and eaten they immediately stain fingers a deep shade of red/purple.

 The Mulberry is one of those plants whose natural history is intertwined with social history. M. nigra is native to Iran but was cultivated and naturalised in the ancient world into Asia and the Mediterranean. They were planted here by the Romans it seems as pips have been found near Roman settlements. Perhaps they arrived earlier than that? Later they were planted in Mediaeval monasteries and abbeys and by the nobility.

 In 1607/8 King James I urged the nobility to plant 10,000 Black Mulberry trees to create an English silk trade to compete with the industries of Italy and France. Mulberry leaves are the one and only food source to grow silkworms but this grand scheme hit a couple of snags. For one thing silkworms prefer the White Mulberry! And England was probably too cold and damp. After all, the nursery rhyme does say: "Here we go round the Mulberry bush/on a cold and frosty morning".

 Nonetheless we are left with a scattering of Mulberries across the country, some truly archaic. The oldest -in Syon Park in West London- was planted in 1548! I haven't seen it and I think I should. 

 Saw lots of Wild Basil (Clinopodium vulgare) growing all over the place on recent walks in Hertfordshire. Most prolific in dry grassy areas but copes with a bit of shade in scrub, hedgerows and woodland glades.

 A relative of culinary Basil though not as pungent or flavoursome by all accounts. The dainty two lipped, three lobed flowers are characteristic of the Lamiaceae family of plants. Much visited by butterflies, note the Brimstone fluttering off at the top of the frame.

 Actually I took this photo on a rare sunny day a couple of weeks ago. A very wet July, about double the average rainfall for the country as a whole. Last year a record heatwave; this year warm but wet, wet, wet. 

 Buddleja davidii is native to rocky habitats in China. Introduced to gardens in this country in the nineteenth century it rapidly seeded and spread into suitable environments like the clinker of railway tracks. Seeds are carried far and wide in the wake of trains and the disturbed ground created by 'works on the line' is conducive to the establishment of certain species.

 A good many invasive plants from around the world beautify the railway network with drifts of colour: Ragwort, Red Valerian, Rosebay Willowherb, Michaelmas Daisy, Goldenrod etc. Having said that all this vegetation is not without problems for the running of trains. 

 This looks like the double flowered form of Saponaria officinalis, generally known as Soapwort and sometimes as Bouncing Bet. Possibly native to the UK or more likely an ancient introduction. The leaves lather up with water to make a thin soap so it may well have been cultivated for that purpose. Still used for cleaning historic tapestries because of its mild detergent qualities.

 Not planted much in gardens these days being an 'untidy' plant that wanders through borders hither and thither. I have the single flowered Soapwort in my back garden and the flowers are daintier than the shaggy flore piano blooms.

 These two Small Whites were flitting and fluttering together in crazy spirals. One came to rest while the other dived and wheeled. Then they sped off doing cartwheels in the air.